Chelsea High School teacher arrested for having sexual contact with a student

[lin_video src=http://eplayer.clipsyndicate.com/embed/player.js?aspect_ratio=3×2&auto_next=1&auto_start=0&div_id=videoplayer-1369437633&height=480&page_count=5&pf_id=9624&show_title=1&va_id=4071648&width=640&windows=2 service=syndicaster width=640 height=480 div_id=videoplayer-1369437633 type=script]HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) — According to a release from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, John Martin Noles, a 36-year-old from Hoover, was arrested on Thursday and charged with one count of school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19.

Noles is a teacher at Chelsea High School and an employee of the Shelby County Board of Education.

He was arrested around 12:30 p.m. at his home without incident, and was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

His bond was set at $6,000. After posting his bond, Noles was released from custody.

“We are aware of these allegations and take them very seriously. The school district took immediate action when we were made aware of these allegations in early May. Mr. Noles has been placed on administrative leave while the school district continues to conduct an ongoing investigation into this matter, in cooperation with law enforcement officials,” the Shelby County Board of Education said in a statement released on Friday.

According to the Code of Alabama:

(a) A person commits the crime of a school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19 years if he or she is a school employee and engaging in sexual contact with a student, regardless of whether the student is male or female. Consent is not a defense to a charge under this section.

(b) As used in this section, sexual contact means any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a student, done for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party. The term includes soliciting or harassing a student to perform a sex act.

(c) The crime of a school employee having sexual contact with a student is a Class A misdemeanor.